Lefty June 10th, 2008
Yesterday was my last day at Digital Pulp, and today is my first day of self-employment after three and a half years. The plan is to work on Figure Four Media and maybe fry up some donuts along the way. I’ll be working mostly from Brooklyn until August 1, when Emily and I will move up to Cold Spring, NY for the month. Should be a good summer.
Lefty December 9th, 2007
I’ve been a bit neglectful of posting here over the last month, as I’ve been focused on getting a huge project out the door at work. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about the upcoming year and all the big decisions that need to be made. There are a lot of things happening next year, and all of them are going to require some thinking:
1. In February the aforementioned project will launch, so I’ll need to figure out what to do afterwards. I can stay the course, or I can more seriously pursue the online video project that most of my posts lately have been hinting at. We’re also going to take a vacation in March and I need to decide where to go. The contenders right now are: snowboarding in upstate NY or VT, snowboarding and visiting friends in Portland, visiting the state of Michoacan in Mexico, or perhaps just finding a nice tropical beach to surf in Costa Rica.
2. I’ll be graduating from Stern, most likely in the August. The program has been taking up pretty much all my free time over the last two years, and finishing will be a real transition point. It will free up a lot of time and mental energy for me, and I think also open some opportunities to go in different directions.
3. Related to both the above, I need to decide where to live. I’ve been back in NYC for 13 years now (after spending my childhood here), and the pace can take a toll. My wife and I have been talking a lot lately about moving out to the Pacific Northwest, and now that my school obligations are wrapping up, we’ll have the opportunity to do so. But leaving NYC won’t be an easy decision - I’ve got a lifetime of friends, relationships, family, and experiences here. At the same time, the call of life in a more manageable city, and the adventure of new surroundings, is very strong.
Lefty August 9th, 2007
I am pleased to announce that after a blissful two and a half year engagement, Emily and I are getting married this Sunday. We’re going to have a small private ceremony right here in Brooklyn, USA (just us and our parents.) Then it’s off to Phoenicia, NY for the last week of August where we will go tubing on the Esopus and eat lots of pancakes.
I’ll post pictures to Flickr after the blessed event.
Lefty March 12th, 2007
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve written on here, since I’ve been super swamped with school and work. Here’s a post that qualifies as “random personal news” if there ever was one:
- Materialite, my team’s entry into the Stern business plan contest, just got passed through to the next round. We’ve just got three other teams to beat out now in order to win the $100,000 first prize.
- I had a great poker night at Michael Malice’s on Friday. I was the third to get knocked out (out of six players), but the company, Chex mix, and Modelo Especial were a big hit. I also walked out the door with a brand new copy of the Batman: Year One graphic novel, courtesy of Scott.
- Guitar Hero 2 rules. My love for karaoke now has a serious rival.
- Emily, Champ, and I are heading up to the Catskills this weekend (specifically Roxbury, NY in Delaware County). I’ll post some Flickr shots of our planned snowtubing outing when I return. (link to Googlemap)
- We finally hooked up our Netflix subscription a few weeks back. I was skeptical about signing up for a long time, but now I’m totally sold on the service. They make it so much easier to watch and rent films. Movies rented so far: Dog Day Afternoon, Grey Gardens, The Departed, and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Up next I have about 30 Japanese samurai movies, starting with Shogun Assassin!
- My ice hockey team, the Tanya Hardings, upset the #2 team in the league in our first round playoff game by a score of 3-2. Semi-finals, here we come. (I was also fortunate enough to score a goal in the game, the credit for which I give entirely to my hard-nosed, never-say-die teammates.)
- Gotham Girls Roller Derby finally got a new practice space - it’s a big warehouse in Astoria. I haven’t been up there yet, but I hear it’s looking pretty good. The plan is for the season to start up again in the spring sometime.
- No SXSW this year for me. My entrepreneurial finance class was on Sunday, and I really didn’t want to skip it (since it’s the best class I’ve taken yet at Stern.) I’m hoping to hear some good stories of A-Town adventures upon people’s return to NYC.
That’s about it for now. I’ll write something more tech/entrepreneurship/nyc related next time, I promise.
Lefty January 18th, 2007
We just got back from the Bahamas on Tuesday night, where we snorkeled, sea kayaked, and infiltrated the Four Seasons hotel. Pictures are up at my Flickr account.
Lefty January 2nd, 2007
As the calendar turns to a new year, it’s a natural time to reflect upon the year that’s past as well as to new goals and resolutions for 2007. Highlights of 2006 for me included:
Things I’m looking forward to in 2007:
Lefty December 13th, 2006
This last week I got to attend two fun holiday parties. The first was for my employer Digital Pulp, and it also doubled as a celebration of the company’s ten year anniversary. The owners rented out a great space at the SoHo restaurant Barolo, and even went so far as to take the impressive step of getting an ice sculpture made of the company logo. There was delicious food and drinks, as well as insightful conversation with colleagues and clients. I had to leave for about an hour in the middle of the party to meet up with some Stern students so we could finalize a group presentation (on the imminent Eurozone expansion) due on the last day of our Global Economy class. But afterwards I headed right back to the action and had a nice late night. It was definitely the most fun I’ve had at a company party in recent memory, and I certainly enjoyed the chance to get to know all my new co-workers a lot better. Check out some sweet Flickr shots here.
On Saturday evening, Emily and I trekked up the BQE to my old hood of Williamsburg and hit the Penny Larceny/Lil’ Red Terror holiday party. It was more good times all around, but there was one key experience that I think will change my life forever: my first ever attempt to play Guitar Hero 2 on PlayStation2 (which was set up in one of the extra rooms.) I have to say, my take on “Search & Destroy” was pretty solid for a first timer. If anyone wants to get me a Hannukah present, this one’s a no-brainer. Pictures are here.
Next week I’ll be hitting up some events thrown by old Wunderman colleagues, as well as some more derby folks.
Lefty December 5th, 2006
My lovely fiancée Emily has launched her very own blog, with coverage and analysis of the haunted house design scene. Check out Ostrichclaw.
